Welcome to the Mentor Learning Center

Should I study abroad?

Before you started college, you may have simply been focused on how to be successful in college. If studying abroad was never a part of your vision for success, that's OK. But there are also many benefits to studying abroad that will ultimately make you a stronger candidate for opportunities after you graduate.

If you are considering studying abroad, here are some steps you may want to take:

Talk to Your Advisors and Fellow Students: When preparing to study abroad, seek advice from people at your current university or college. First, make appointments to speak with your advisors, specifically in study abroad, academic advising and financial aid. If you have a study abroad office at your campus, make an appointment to talk with them and fully understand what programs are available to you. You should also connect with your academic advisors to figure out which courses will enable you to earn credits towards your major or degree. And of course, make an appointment to talk with the financial aid office. Doing this will help you realize how much of your financial aid package can be used to go abroad, which will determine how much you may be expected to pay out of pocket.

Talk to students who have already studied abroad. They can give you firsthand advice about the process of living abroad, and will give you the most truthful answers you could want. If you don't know anyone who has studied abroad, ask your advisors to connect you with someone who has recently gone abroad through your campus. You can also use the Diversity Abroad Community Forums to post any questions you have, or read our the Diversity Abroad Alumni Stories to find a student whose identities and experiences may be more similar to yours.

Research scholarship opportunities. Studying abroad can be expensive, but there are many ways for you to make it affordable, including scholarships, grants, and using existing financial aid. It's important to review all of your funding options to ensure that studying abroad is something you can afford to do, while also giving yourself enough of a financial cushion that you actually enjoy your time abroad. It requires balance and patience, but when well-prepared, students can certainly go abroad having spent little to no extra funds. Start with these 8 study abroad scholarships curated by Diversity Abroad or these from Goabroad.com.

Find Support: Making the decision to go abroad, especially if no one you know before you has done it, can be daunting. Your family and friends may not understand your motivations, or may even think it's a "vacation." It's important to find people in your life who support your decision to go abroad, whether that support comes from friends, family, mentors, or even other students in your study abroad cohort. Having people in your life who understand and respect your decision to go abroad can help you feel more comfortable, and can help you ease into your study abroad program more smoothly.

Keep Learning

Follow Us

About

The Learning Center is a centralized collection of resources for iMentor staff, partners, mentors, mentees, funders, schools, and other friends of iMentor. The goal of the Learning Center is to provide everyone the tools and information they need to fulfill their roles in our program.